Two days later
there I was on the physio bed, the only questions I had were, ‘will I hike
again?’, ‘will I run again?’ and the last one ‘will I be able to run a 100km
race in a year’s time?’. The answer that came back was ‘if you do what I tell
you, yes’. At that moment the seed of
the dream to enter and finish the HK 100, my first solo 100km race, was
planted. I was going to do all my exercises religiously and not just from the
fear of being told off each week for not doing them.
It took six months
to May 2013 of religiously going 4 times a week to the gym doing certain
exercises and stretches. Most of it spent getting bemused stares as I either stood
in various contorted positions whilst raising a leg trying not to fall over or
with my hands on backside desperately seeing if I could activate the glutes.
I’m still convinced the latter would have been easier and faster just wiring
them up to the mains.
At the end of May
I hit the trails with fellow trail runner Vic So for what was supposed to be a
17km hike in Tai Lam Country Park, but the inevitable jogging started. Apart
from the 2 days of recovery from not doing anything in a long time, no major
recurring issues popped up. This was the start of a gradual build up over the
summer to getting back on the trails.
In August the entry
for HK 100 opened, I had just flown abroad with work and almost missed it
getting confused with the time differences. Realising my mistake just in time I
ran back to the hotel like a madman, took the lift up to my room using the Hong
Kong elevator button pressing technique as the lift always come quicker when
one does that. Before I had known it I was logged on and the enter button was
pressed. Entry secured, I was in. I then sat back, what had I done? I wasn’t
100% sure but it was 5 months away and it was going to be a fun journey.
The rest of 2013
saw me ramping up the training including a weeks running in Spain which got my
fitness up and various friends doing a lot of persuasion to enter the Beijing Sowers
Great Wall Marathon, HK MSIG 50km and Oxfam Trailwalker which all hurt in their
special ways but in an enjoyable sadistic way. The biggest difference to my
running prior to being injured is the sheer enjoyment and positivity that I get
on being out on the trails. Even on the hottest summer days with a bad head
from excess the night before the positivity I have found gets me through the
low points and bring enjoyment to each moment whilst out. Previously it had
always been easier to take the early exit.
Roll on Jan 2014
and a couple of weeks prior to race day a niggle with a pulled adductor popped
up. I don’t think once I thought this might put me out. Ten days of doing
nothing but massaging, prodding, stretching, taping and positively thinking it
will be better in time proved good with a couple of test runs in the week
before with little issue.
The week up to
race day I was full of adrenaline busting to get out, flowing through the route
and timings in my mind, what would happen if I went faster, what should I eat
and drink, and where would I find that mandatory space blanket having toured
several shops around Causeway Bay and Mong Kok.
Race morning saw
my arriving at Pak Tam Chung with OTW teammates Rachel & Tilly and Nic who
was on reporting duty for the race. Usual pre-race drill took over on arrival
which I’ll spare the details. I’ve always been amazed at how many toilet trips
one can fit in before a race. A quick catchup with a few people and I made my
way to the start for that obligatory time of not really knowing whether it’s
nervousness or pure adrenalin that is trying to escape. I don’t know where the time went, but before
I knew it, it was the countdown and 1600 runners were on their way to Route
Twisk and the finish line 100km away.
Vibram HK100 course profile
From Start to East Dam
It was good to
finally get moving. I spent the first 400m run on the road catching up with a
few other runners before the right hand turn onto the trail where I tried to
calm down and get into my stride. Things felt good along the first 5km of
trail, breaking all my no running uphill rules in the first 50km of the race. After
all, rules are there to be broken. I arrived at the East Dam 10 minutes ahead
of schedule feeling great. It was great to see Nic and Martijn there who cheered
me on. The atmosphere on the first 12km had been fun, but now it was time to focus,
find the rhythm and start refuelling. The voices from Trailwalker in my mind
from November reminded me to eat on the first uphill from East Dam.
Looking fresh in the first 5km. Photo from Jun Sat
East Dam to Wong Shek Pier
I followed Claire
Price up and over to the base of Sai Wan Shan. She glided effortlessly down the
stairs to Long Ke beach. I tried my hardest to imitate her downhill running
skills and was lucky not to be using my chin as a broom to sweep the steps.
Going up Sai Wan Shan, I was in two minds on whether I should slow down as
should not be in this position, but I felt comfortable so told myself not to
worry about it. Before I knew it we were jogging past the pavilion at the top
and heading down to Sai Wan beach.
3 years ago this
used to be my most hated hill in Hong Kong and after one occasion being
dehydrated in the summer heat I had to crawl on my hands and knees to get to
the top. During the last summer I knew I
had to get rid of this lasting memory and had picked one of the hottest days of
the year to blast up Sai Wan Shan to purge the memory of crawling up 3 year
before. Now my only disappointment is not having the time or the camera to stop
and take a photo of the view over to the beaches and Sharp Peak.
A cheer from
Romain who was filming with Lloyd on Ham Tin beach spurred me on to what felt
like the best egg sandwich I had had in a while at CP1 after running 19km.
From Ham Tin I
found my place behind Peter Lee and was feeling really good with the pace. On
the hill out of Chek Keng Rupert was there with his camera and cheered us
along. The final run into CP2 at Wong Shek Pier appeared effortless. The small
uphill bits that were there on my last training run didn’t seem to exist today
and before I knew it I was running down the final steps over the timing map at
CP2 to the water and food tent to refuel 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Things
were going well, but I still had so much adrenalin and excitement in me I
wasn’t really aware of who was there cheering us on. Leaving the checkpoint I
knew I had to calm myself down somehow.
Running across Sai Wan Beach. Photo from Vibram HK100
Wong Shek to Hoi Ha
This has to be the
most technical part of the race and one that I had always worried about going over and twisting an ankle. I had given myself enough
timing to take it easy on the leg to Hoi Ha. However the thoughts of twists and
slips never surfaced as I followed Peter Lee making his way through the rock
obstacles in the path around the coastline even having the pleasure of looking
out at the view on occasions. Turning left at the bend near Wan Tsai I was
reminded to eat again on the short set of steps uphill. A short run with a
couple of local Hong Kong runners who were chatting away took us into CP3 at
Hoi Ha to be greeted by very friendly and happy supporters at the CP who helped
to fill my bottles. Still obsessed with my timing sheet I was now 17 minutes
ahead of my ambitious target schedule and still feeling good. However just as I
was leaving the CP, I was stopped dead in my tracks. My eyes caught sight of the
biggest box of toblerone chocolate I have ever seen. I couldn’t resist, 36km
down and stuffing my face with oranges and chocolate felt great.
Hoi Ha to Yung Shue O
A short way up the
road from Hoi Ha I was back on the Peter Lee express and bumped into Rupert
with his camera who commented if I was ever going to be anywhere other than 10m
behind Peter. Not if I can help it, but I’m not expecting it to last was my
response. It was starting to get warm and so I put myself on the pavement in
the shade of the trees. A drop down to the right took us on to a concrete trail
through the small village of Pak Sha O where a group were cheering us along
sitting at a table with a bottle of wine or two. The temptation for a stop was
high. The sight of a picnic and glass of wine was pure cruelty to the mind.
During this
stretch the concrete trail winds it’s way up through the woods, the gradient
not too steep so I slowly jogged to the
top passing a couple of runners on the way. Taking the left hand turn on to
trail the first glimpse of Ma On Shan comes into view and brings a smile to my
face. Little did I know what state I’d be in 90 minutes later climbing up it.
Running past Sham Chung and on the coastal trail was the first point where I
could feel myself getting tired. I pushed those thoughts to the side as I ran
past the Chinese pineapple trees just outside Yung Shue O and shortly after met
Vince just outside the checkpoint at the 45km mark. A quick joke about wanting
to steal his motorbike to get to Sai Sha Rd while Hannes, Vince and Alice
helped to fill water bottles and stuff oranges down my throat and before I new
I was off for the final half and all the hills. I was 20 minutes up on my
ambitious target and couldn’t believe how strong I had been going.
Yung Shue O to Kei Ling Ha
On the left hand
turn just after the village, the race marshal told me I was in 34th
position. I thanked him for putting a smile on my face. I had lost the Peter
express and decided that I should calm down and take stock of what was still
left to do. This gave me the chance to eat a sandwich whilst walking a flat
bit, a real luxury.
At the bottom of
Rooster Hill, a fierce climb of around 250m I was feeling tired. It was at this
point where I ditched my ever trusty timing schedule and didn’t look at it
again for the remainder of the race. The sun was out and it was warm but I went
up a steady pace. Near the top some shirtless guy came racing up over and was
gone in a flash. The speed of him amazed me. Seeing Martijn filming on the
downhill to the road gave me a boost and all the clapping and cheering coming
into checkpoint 5 put the smile on my face, but the reality when I now look
back at some of the photos taken was clearly a different story.
If I’m brutally
honest, I am not that clear at what was going around me at checkpoint 5 or how
long I was there for, but don’t think it was too long. I recall Vince and
Hannes taking me to a bench and sitting me down and Vince trying to calm me
down and telling me to rest for a couple of minutes. I’ve no idea what he said,
I was in a trance in my own space. Alice helped with my water bottles, Hannes
& Nic gave me food and Rupert took some photos so I could savour the moment
at some later point. Having them there no doubt gave me the uplift I needed to
push on into the hills of second half. Nic helped me through the traffic across
the road, not sure if it was his gangster look with the yellow sunglasses or the
look as though I was going to stumble in front of the next moving car, but one
eventually stopped and the journey into the big hills was about to start.
In a world of trouble at the 52km point being looked after by support crew. Photo from Rupert
Nic doing his best gangster look to stop the cars and help me across the road at CP5. Photo from HK Run
Kei Ling Ha to Gilwell Camp
The last I recall
as I headed up the trail from CP5 was Vince’s shout, ‘slow down and take it
easy’. There was no fear of that not happening in the state I was in. All plans
to run up the road section were thrown away as I got my poles out and got into
a good fast walking rhythm. I climbed up Ma On Shan at a slow steady pace, but
soon realised how dehydrated I was. By the time I got to the top I had gone
through half my water and wishing I had filled the spare bottle in my bag. My
next thought was ‘oh well, nothing I can do about it now, it’s ration time to
Gilwell Camp’. Over the top I ran past all the people with cameras on the ridge
and then bumped into Tommy and Speeto who were hiking the other way. From there
my troubles really kicked in as I jogged and walked bits to Mau Ping. I was feeling
light headed and was struggling to stay awake.
The first steps up
to Buffalo Pass and the sharp pain of cramps in both adductors came in. Not
really knowing what to do I resorted to putting more electrolytes in my
remaining water, stretching and deep breathing to take my mind off the pain.
Another runner came past and offered me more electrolytes which was very kind,
but I was nervous about going the other way and having to much salt in one go.
I tried to stay pretty positive through this section focussing on just moving
slowly and stretching and hopefully the cramps would vanish. The one thought I
remember the best that came into my head was ‘I want that finisher’s hoodie and
I’m going to get it!’. Why this came up into my mind on the steps up to Buffalo
Pass I have no idea, but I’ve been jealous of everyone’s warm HK100 hoodies the
previous couple years during the Hong Kong winter months and I wanted one, and
at that point I was prepared to crawl to the end to get it. It’s always amazed
me how the smallest of things can have the biggest of impacts.
Coming into
Gilwell camp it was great to the see the supporters at the checkpoint. I hate
to think how bad the photo is that was taken by the nice lady there of me
cramming as many orange slices in my mouth at the same time as drinking a litre
of Pocari Sweat. I was still in my trance and despite the excruciating pain of
cramps on each set of steps the past hour I left the checkpoint 6 with a big
grin on my face from the positivity and laughs from all the helpers.
Gilwell Camp to Shing Mun
It must have
around 4.20pm and the heat of the day was dissipating. I knew in an hour’s time
when evening came my low point would come to an end. I always gain strength on
the trail once darkness falls.
I ran down the
hill from the checkpoint with Chor Kin and he flew off in front when we turned
left on the trail. My cramping issues had not gone away and I struggled up
Tate’s Cairn, this was the point where I did start to doubt, but I stuck with
the view of once night fell in an hour or two it would get better. Running down
the road to Shatin Pass it was great to see Vince, Hannes and Alice there to
cheer me on and give me some words on encouragement as I stumbled past. On the
climb to Beacon Hill things did get better as I was having to stop less
frequently to deal with the cramps and on reaching the checkpoint at the top I
knew there and then I would make it to the finish line 20kms and 3 of the
toughest hills away.
The kids at the
checkpoint, like all the volunteers at each checkpoint, were awesome. Lots of
fun, laughs and chocolate lycee packets. I left there feeling good with the
thought of I can still get to Shing Mun in daylight if I push a bit. I ran
pretty quick down the stairs and a good pace on the 2km flat section through
the woods to Tai Po Rd, and for once the monkeys seemed more scared of me than
the other way round. Ying Ying who I bumped into at checkpoint was right on my
tail and we walked and jogged up the hill through the monkey zone together.
Having seen his performance on races throughout the season it was a privilege
to be able to run with one of the best in Hong Kong. Coming down into Shing Mun
we flew along the trail and down the steps in the dark without bothering to get
the head torches out, and I was greeted by Hannes and Vince at checkpoint 8. I
had a smile and more importantly I had my form back. I was looking forward to
Needle Hill and the climb to Hong Kong highest peak, Tai Mo Shan.
Shing Mun to the finish line
I’ve always had a
view of Needle Hill. During the daytime it’s a killer, at night it’s absolutely
fine as you can’t see where you have to go, and what you can’t see can’t harm
you. I was by myself on the climb up but managed a fast and steady pace and was
really enjoying it. Just before the
summit I caught up with the runner in front and we ran down the other side
together and hiked/jogged up to Grassy Hill together. I had never met KK Chan
before, but he is one of the legends on the trail scene and again it was a
privilege to be on Needle Hill, Grassy Hill and Tai Mo Shan with another
inspirational runner from Hong Kong. The strength was coming back and we ran
down into the checkpoint at Leadmine Pass. It had been 1 hours and 10 minutes
from Shing Mun, the cramps pretty much gone and I was back on all cylinders.
I took half a jam
sandwich at the checkpoint for the start of the climb up Tai Mo Shan. I’ve
always enjoyed this climb, probably in the knowledge that the end is in sight.
I jogged bits on the plateaux at the top and was catching up other runners. The
full moon and the stars were out and the views of the lit up city of Shenzhen,
Hong Kong Island and the bridges to Lantau were stunning. One runner near the
top going at quite a pace stunned me as he appeared to have no light, but all I
could here was this whizzing sound every few seconds and as I got closer I
think it was one of the wind up lights. Once on the final 150m of ascent road
climb to the summit he was off like a bullet.
The start of the
run down with KK Chan we took it easy admiring the views and the clear sky.
About half way down I suddenly heard the shouts of Vince, Nic and Martijn who
had come up to cheer and follow on the last section to the finish line and tell
me to hurry up. I feel very honoured to have run the last stretch to the line
with KK Chan and Ying Ying, two great runners in Hong Kong.
I crossed the line
in 13 hours and 5 minutes, my 13 month dream had concluded. My first solo 100km
ultra ticked.
My target time
that I had set myself several months ago had been sub 15 hours and I had
smashed it. Some know that I had more recently set myself a very ambitious 12
hour 30 minutes target time. Could I have achieved this? Possibly, had I been
more disciplined about water and electrolyte intake. Am I disappointed, not one
bit! I exceeded my expectations and even through the difficulties of the 3rd
25kms of the race I had fun. I met some great people on the trails, both
runners and volunteer supporters at the checkpoints and it was fantastic to get
cheered on by so many friendly faces along the race route.
Post Race Food with Vince, Linda & Vic. Photo from Martijn
I feel
exceptionally lucky to have had the support of Vince, Hannes and Alice at
various checkpoints along the way and am extremely grateful to them. I got a
lot of encouragement from them and from a lot of other friends along the route
and am grateful in belief that several people have had in me over the past few
month of being able to get out and complete this race. I feel lucky to be in Hong
Kong. It’s a great place for getting out on the trails and I feel honoured to
be part of the trail running community here.
So why do I run?
Before someone
asks, wrapping up to my original question, why do I run? I’ve had a lot of time
to think about this over the past 6 months on the trails whilst training for
this event and my answer has been a return question, what do you miss?
I only really
found this out this summer, when I returned to the trails after a long time
away with injury.
3 years ago before
I got injured when my running was in its early days. Training in the summer
heat was a struggle, I wasn’t sure what I was doing and always looking for an
excuse for an early exit. The past 6 months since I restarted, my attitude has
changed, It doesn’t matter whether I’m in the hills with friends or on a 40km
run by myself. I now savour the moments I have out on the trails with my mind
in a world of its own. I enjoy the views, the wild sounds in the trees, and the
sound of my feet hitting the trail km after km and the ice cold Lai Cha or cold
beer at the end of a run tastes even more refreshing then it ever used to.
Even during the
last summer on the occasions when the heat got the better of me or I tired
myself out and had a way to go to the end of a run, I’d have a smile in the
back of my mind as it was not that long ago that being out on the trail was not
even a choice.
You really make the whole journey come alive. Very interesting and one of the best running blogs I've ever read
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